Voters to decide fate of unification
Earlene Ward - July 15, 2005
Proposed unification of school districts
includes Yosemite Joint Union with Coarsegold Union

Voters within the boundaries of the Yosemite Joint Union High School District, which includes Coarsegold Union School District, will have the opportunity to vote November 8 on whether YJUHSD and the CUSD should unify. The area includes Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Coarsegold, Fish Camp, Oakhurst, Raymond and Wawona.

The question on the ballot will be: “Should the Yosemite Joint Union High School District and the Coarsegold Union School District be reorganized to form a new unified school district?” Voters will answer “yes” or “no.” A 50 percent-plus one “yes” vote is required for the proposal to pass.

Voters will also elect five trustees for the new district who will be seated if the unification vote passes. The trustees will be elected at-large which means more than one trustee could come from the same community.

Bill McCabe, superintendent of both YJUSHD and CUSD, said the trustees of the two districts had wanted a seven-member board from trustee areas but the state chose five. The at-large configuration was selected because of a lawsuit moving through the courts about board configuration involving another district in the state.

McCabe said the decision was based on legal advice and advice from the Madera County Office of Education and the California Department of Education.

The filing period for board candidates is July 18-August 12, according to the Madera County Elections Department. There is no filing fee for candidates. However, if a candidate wants a statement included, the cost is $535 for the Madera County ballot and $325 for the Mariposa County ballot (Fish Camp and Wawona are in Mariposa County).

In order to run for the unified board, a candidate must be a registered voter within the boundaries of the YJUHSD. Candidates need to go to the county elections office in Madera and fill out the required papers.
If the two districts unify, they will form a new district with a totally new board of trustees. If any of the trustees currently on one of the boards wishes to be on the new board, he or she will have to be elected to that position in the November election.

In the notice of election, Madera County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sally Frazier notes that the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to three-year terms and the two receiving the next highest number of votes will be elected to one-year terms. In the event of a tie vote or votes, the winners would be determined by lot before the appropriate officer or board. The next election after unification would be November 2006.

If the unification vote is successful, the new unified district will begin July 1, 2006.

The petition by YJUHSD and CUSD to unify was approved by the State Board of Education at its July 6 meeting by a 9-1 vote. The districts have been working almost two years on the unification process.

They are working through what is called a Thompson Unification which means one feeder elementary district unifies with the high school district but the other two elementary districts would not. Bass Lake and Raymond will not participate in the unification process.

McCabe said the two districts have shared administrators for about four years including himself, the business manager, transportation manager and cafeteria manager. “This will eliminate a lot of duplication of reports and services,” he said.

McCabe is proud of the trustees from the two districts. “The boards persevered to get this as a ballot measure so people can vote on unification,” he said. “I’m proud that they worked so hard to bring this to fruition.”

YJUHSD Trustees Bert McSwain and Priscilla Pike, CUSD Board President Sue O’Connor and Srini Vasan, director of business services for the two districts, attended the state board meeting.

Pike says “This is the next logical step for us. We share so much in common; it simply codifies what we have been doing successfully for four years.”

McSwain said he was pleased with the “fine reception” the representatives received at the state board meeting. “The board was very well prepared,” he said. “The members were very knowledgeable and courteous; there was no abrasiveness anywhere.” He had special praise for Geri Cox, chief business official for the Madera County Office of Education, noting that she was most helpful in answering questions. “She went out of her way to get things done for us,” he said.

Pike told the state board that the districts are “shining examples of communities with caring and responsible citizens, and students cooperatively learning creative problem-solving skills to help them achieve their full potential as life long learners, citizens and workers.”

She told them of the schools’ academic achievements, the construction project at Yosemite High School and the programs that are still being offered in mountain schools when they are being cut in many schools around the state.

McSwain talked about the growth Eastern Madera County is experiencing, calling it “astronomical.” He said the districts “have charted a future that is unbelievable. We’re on the way to bigger, better and greater things. We’re on track and heading in the right direction.”

He adds that the unification proposal is “for the future; we’re in the business of educating kids, this is worthwhile.”

O’Connor says she is “very glad that we’ve gotten through the process at the state level and I look forward to the election so the community can let us know how they feel about unification; then we can move forward as two districts or a unified district.”

She encourages all community members to consider the possibility of being a trustee for the proposed new district.

O’Connor goes on to say that the CUSD “is committed to look out for the best interest of all kids and will work toward insuring that the educational process is not disrupted during this issue.”

Vasan agrees that the work toward unification has been for the kids. “It will bring more and better resources to the students.” He says that is why people within the two districts and the people who serve on the unification committee have worked so hard to get to this point.

He expressed his appreciation to the Madera County Office of Education and the California Department of Education for working with the districts and moving the process along. He said he is especially grateful for the hard work Dr. Frazier and the CDE put in to meet the filing deadline. State board approval was July 6 and the deadline for placing the proposal on the November ballot was July 8.

The CDE notified Dr. Frazier the same day as the board approved the petition and she completed the required paperwork by July 7.

Yosemite Joint Union High School District News